Favorite special features

[buckshot]

i'm not real big on special features. most of them never get watched unless its one of my favorite movies, but even then I will usually only watch some deleted scenes and maybe 1 interview. with all of these new special features already out, and more coming i'm just curious as to how many people actually us/like them.

personally the only time I ever use audio commentary is with animated movies, not sure why. the 3 pixar releases were great I watched each of them 2 times back to back. 1 time just the movie, the other with the audio/photo commentary.

on most of the blu rays the only in movie feature I use if the pop up fact track. those are always pretty interesting.

edit: ok so there was an error and it didn't post the poll. dammit.

[sj001]

My favorite is that Blu-ray players don't tend to lock up all the time.

[Go Blu]

I usually enjoy the MAKING OF if I enjoyed the movie.

[jsteinhauer]

I almost always watch deleted scenes and outtakes. I never watch commentary or "making of" features. Every so often, I will watch a bonus "short" or documentary piece.

[sj001]

But seriously, any featurettes that involve the production of the movie and interviews with cast and crew. But, I am not into the additional audio tracks with commentary, thus the reason I always thought PiP was a gimmick.

[Rustmonsteru]

muahahaha, I don't enjoy special features!

Really, I almost never watch them. Once in a blue moon I might watch some deleted scenes. Mini featurettes like the ones on Ratatouille do get watched however.

[hc666]

Depending on the movie but Director or Cast Commentary... has to be a movie I LOVE though.

Watched/heard this for Evil Dead 2, Day of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead and Devil's Rejects. Loved every second of it. As a huge horror buff I can't get enough of this feature.

[MacDaddyOJack]

I hardly ever watch special features either, and I could care less about movies with PiP.

The only thing I will sometimes be interested in is a gag reel, especially from a comedy movie. Those can be funny. But more often than not, I won't even check for one.

[ClaytonMG]

Best Special Feature ever...

ISOLATED SCORES!!! The way Universal used to do it (by putting the full score in the language menu on a disc, sometimes even in 5.1 sound) was awesome! But now due to reuse fees and royalties, we probably wont get too many more of those...

[Trebar]

It really depends on the movie. Animated and Sci-Fi/Fantasy I love commentaries from actors/directors. Action films I like to see the making of/behind the scenes. If I really love the movie then give me animatics, set design...just toss everything in.

[DJeffries]

Deleted Scenes and Outtakes. If the movie is about a real person or event and has featurettes/documentaries on the real person or event the movie is based on.

[GregBlu5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the special features that came with those extended cut LOTR's boxes. And I really enjoyed the 'making of'stuff that came with the Blu-ray SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (yeah, I know it was Paramount). I felt connected (in both cases) to the actual folks who made the movies and put it all together. (But I typically wait to watch them only after I finish watching the film.)

-Greg

[Kristin Simard]

Most "making of" featurettes look about the same. You have a camera crew, sound crew, lighting, costumes, make-up, actors standing around, etc. The filming is either on location, in a studio, in front of a blue or green screen...or some combination of these. Not too much excitement there, unless it's a film I have a special interest in.

Interviews that give some insight are interesting to see once. The Criterion Collection often has this, but interviews about Hollywood films are usually less interesting.

Generally, I want stellar sound and picture quality. The extras are just that, and optional. If you need them to enjoy the film, something is wrong.
An exception to this is 2001 - A Space Odyssey. The effects were innovative for its time and some of the mechanical devices were very unusual. Like the "ferris-wheel" set where they filmed the centrifugal gravity simulator.

[DealsR4theDevil]

In the Dawn of the Dead Blu-ray I like the "fast facts" special features. Normally idc about special features but those facts were kind of interesting. They were things like "this is how this special effect was done" or "that zombie was my wife's dentist," just fun stuff like that. Evil Dead 2 had this same feature, but it didnt make up for Evil Dead 2's crappy video quality. I am tempted to get Day of the Dead just for this feature.

[fupduk2]

Deleted scenes, out takes and alternate endings.

[EricJ]

And I don't care if it is a "toy", I liked playing Marvel Comics trivia while watching Fantastic Four 2 onscreen...
I already know which one was more entertaining.

[flynho_PS3]

Originally Posted by fupduk2

Deleted scenes, out takes and alternate endings.

same goes for me...

[buckshot]

Originally Posted by DealsR4theDevil

In the Dawn of the Dead Blu-ray I like the "fast facts" special features. Normally idc about special features but those facts were kind of interesting. They were things like "this is how this special effect was done" or "that zombie was my wife's dentist," just fun stuff like that. Evil Dead 2 had this same feature, but it didnt make up for Evil Dead 2's crappy video quality. I am tempted to get Day of the Dead just for this feature.

I love those fact tracks. tears of the sun, rescue dawn, from hell, and a few others have had it.

I must admit I have played the fly zapper game on the fly, and global warming quiz on TDAT. but only once. I tried to play the car finder game on cars and the chef game on ratatouille, but quickly became bored.


can a mod help my with the poll? even if no one else votes, its bugging the crap out of me not having one.

[DNR7265]

I don't watch any of the special features. It wouldn't hurt my feelings a bit if the studios did away with them.

[Seretur]

Seems I was the first to answer this poll.

And now, in order of preference:

• Audio Commentary (better than any film school, when the participants are right);
• Deleted Scenes (best insight in the shaping of the story from script to screen);
• A thorough Making-Of Feature (like the ones Charlie de Lauzirika makes);
• Isolated Score (because the art of scoring is becoming an endangered species);
• Trailers and any other specific Promotions (just to see how the thing was marketed at the time of release).

And whatever you do, just keep the EPK as far away from my Blu-rays as possible. Same goes for online shopping options.

Actual web-enabled content would be neat, though, allowing producers to prolong their deadlines with non-essential features, and add captions and subtitles at the viewer's discretion. In a way, as long as you have proper PQ and AQ on your disc, everything else could be left available for download.

PiP also has its values, mostly as a visual aid for an audio commentary -- in a sort of masterclass mode. But I really don't need a small frame showing featurettes during the actual film -- I'd much rather peruse them at my leisure apart from it.

Thanks for the poll, guys!